Delco sits, waits for monster storm Sandy's arrival

In this image taken by NOAA's GOES East on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, Hurricane Sandy is seen in the center bottom. The hurricane has killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean, and just left the Bahamas. It is expected to move north, just off the Eastern Seaboard. When Hurricane Sandy becomes a hybrid weather monster some call "Frankenstorm" it will smack the East Coast harder and wider than last year's damaging Irene, forecasters said Friday. (AP Photo/NOAA)

Amanda LaBerdia, an employee of Cole's Hardware in Atlas, Pa., checks-out a sump pump for a customer Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. The store sold out of generators as area residents prepared for the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The remnants of Hurricane Sandy are expected to impact the Susquehanna Valley late-Monday into Tuesday with flooding rains and wind gusts of 60 mph. (AP Photo/The News-Item, Larry Deklinski)

The waiting might not be the hardest part as anticipation builds for where and when Hurricane Sandy will hit.

Enduring the storm and the cleanup afterwards are likely to be the most difficult things to come.

According to the National Weather Service on Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center is projecting Sandy's eye to hit in the Lewes, Del., area at about 8 a.m. Tuesday with 80 mph winds, which would make it a low level Category 1 hurricane.

Some of the wind and rain will reach the area before that, likely Sunday night or early Monday.

Just what that means for Delaware County remains a bit of a gray area.

There is most likely going to be rain and wind -- how much and how strong is yet to be determined.

Sandy has a large path and is also slow moving, at about 10 mph, which could mean more rain for the area. Last fall's Hurricane Irene moved at about 20 mph.

"Right now, we are looking at four to eight inches of rain, that's a good estimate," National Weather Service meteorologist Valerie Meola said. "Tropical cyclone conditions are for winds to be from 39 to 73 mph, and those are definitely looking possible."

One model of the storm also predicts that there will be 60-80 mph winds late Sunday night through Tuesday.

Meola said the storm is still too far away to make that projection.

"We're projecting for 30 to 50 mph winds inland, based on the current forecast track," she said. "There is some potential for some wind gusts to be at hurricane level, but it doesn't look like there will be hurricane level sustained winds."

The anticipation of high winds and rain will cause some who have extravagant decorations for Halloween on Wednesday to dismantle them a little early.

"I will probably take my down Sunday," said Springfield resident Dann Cuellar, whose Halloween display includes about 100 pieces with music, lighting effects, moving ghosts and creatures of all sorts. "If I didn't take them down, I'd really have some flying ghosts then."

Delaware County Emergency Services Director Ed Truitt hasn't seen flying ghosts during hurricanes, but he has seen a lot in his 26 years at the position.

"We know there is going to be a monumental amount of rain, and there are going to be some flooded basements, some flooded highways and some trees down," he said. "The local municipalities know where their problems are and our roll is to expedite the process.

"What people need to realize is that you plow and cut for public safety first."

Some problem flooding areas during past storms in the county include the bridge over Cobbs Creek on Marshall Road in Upper Darby, sections of Darby Borough along Darby Creek, the bridge on Baltimore Pike at Burmont Road, the Kerlin Street Bridge across Chester Creek in Chester Township, Route 1 between Upper Darby and Springfield, Route 3 at the Blue Route, Route 1 over Brandywine Creek and Route 420 at the Amtrak bridge in Prospect Park.

"The areas that generally flood are where there is a PennDOT bridge and then the debris comes down under the bridge and gets stuck and forms a dam and then the water backs up," Truitt said. "We know there is going to be winds and water. We don't know how much we're going to get. We'll find out when it happens."

Even residences that aren't flooded or hit with downed trees could still be affected by power outages. Just how long certain areas may go without power also remains a big question.

"The more trees you have," Truitt said, "The more you are at risk."

Two local municipalities that will likely be effected by the storm are Upper Darby and Darby Borough.

Darby Borough mayor Helen Thomas declared a state of emergency for that municipality as of 3 p.m. Friday so that emergency services could be activated when they are needed.

Also, Upper Darby Director of Public Works Dan Lutz says he has his personnel ready.

"We pretty much prepare the same way for all of these hurricanes," Lutz said. "We've been cleaning drain inlets and picking up leaf piles. We're watching the storm like everybody else. One thing that might help is that you have less flooding when there is rainfall over a longer period of time. When the situation is spread out, it's usually much better."

What won't be better for those near the storm is if it does as predicted and combines with another weather system coming in from the West. If those merge, it could make for a pre-Halloween monster storm.

However, forecasters have said while it will be cooler, don't expect a "Snowtober" repeat, which has its one-year anniversary Monday.

"Right now the forecast only calls for rain," Meola said. "Right now in the Poconos, it calls for temperatures in the 40s and lows in the mid to upper 30s."

With the storm having passed through the Bahamas Thursday night there are still two primary predictions of where it will hit. The most popular one is for Lewes, Del., however another model has Sandy staying out at sea and then hitting New York City later Tuesday.

It appears this will be the first time since 1954-55 that hurricanes have hit the Northeast in consecutive years. Last year's Irene was the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the northeast since 1960.

Sandy has passed through Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Bahamas in recent days with a combined death toll of 39, according to the Associated Press.

FYI

Here are some items you will need if your residence is left without power for an extended time due to Hurricane Sandy according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association:

Provisions to last 72 hours

Flashlights and extra batteries

Portable, battery-operated radio and extra batteries

First aid kit and manual

Emergency food and water

Non-electric can opener

Essential medicines/prescriptions

Cash, credit cards and important legal documents

Sturdy shoes

Also, if you are asked to evacuate your residence, here is a list of items to take with you: